TidBITS#819/06-Mar-06
=====================
Apple's media event last week didn't deliver the iJetpack
we've been waiting for, but it did bring an improved, Intel-
based Mac mini, as well as the iPod Hi-Fi, the company's first
large-scale entry into the iPod accessory market. Joe Kissell
has those details. Apple also released a couple of minor updates
along with Security Update 2006-001, which deals with many
of the security issues we've been grappling with in recent
weeks. Later in this issue, Adam reviews Docktopus from Startly
Technologies and announces the pre-sale and draft availability
of "Take Control of iWeb," and Glenn Fleishman tells you why
you're going to hear a lot about ultrawideband (UWB) wireless
communications in the future.
Topics:
MailBITS/06-Mar-06
Security Update 2006-001 Validates Downloads
Apple Releases Intel-Based Mac Mini
Apple Introduces iPod Hi-Fi
In a Docktopus's Garden
Ultrawideband to Add New Wireless Options
Take Control News/06-Mar-06
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/06-Mar-06
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MailBITS/06-Mar-06
------------------
**iTunes, iPhoto, and Front Row Updated** -- Apple last week
released iTunes 6.0.4 and iPhoto 6.0.2 to address minor
problems with Front Row, Apple's media-center interface software
for playing music, photos, and videos on the iMac, MacBook Pro,
and just-released Intel-based Mac mini. Unsurprisingly, they
were accompanied by an update to Front Row 1.2.1, which claims
to improve compatibility with iTunes and iPhoto sharing. The new
version of iTunes reportedly fixes stability- and performance-
related related to Front Row, and the iPhoto update resolves
problems related to playing shared slideshows in Front Row.
iTunes 6.0.4 is an 18.7 MB download via Software Update, iPhoto
Update 6.0.2 is a 13.7 MB download, and Front Row 1.2.1 is a
5.5 MB download. Given the specific nature of these changes,
I'd suggest that anyone not using Front Row could skip these
updates or at least put them off until convenient. [ACE]
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes604.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/iphoto602.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/frontrow121.html>
**GarageBand 3.0.1 Released** -- Apple posted GarageBand 3.0.1
last week, which fixes a specific podcast problem in the French
or Finnish localized versions of the audio-creation software.
The update is available via Software Update or as a 1.5 MB
download. [JLC]
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/garageband301update.html>
**Blackberry Stays Juiced** -- Writing a few weeks ago, Patrick
Dennis reviewed the Blackberry 7100i handheld (see "Putting
Blackberries in Your PocketMac" in TidBITS-815_) and noted that
the device's slick email service was in danger of being shuttered
due to a patent dispute between parent company Research In Motion
(RIM) and NTP, Inc. Last week, the two companies announced a
settlement: RIM will pay NTP $612.5 million, which puts to rest
any further litigation and keeps the service active. Millions
of "crackberry" addicts can be satisfied knowing that they
can continue to check their email obsessively. [JLC]
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08413>
<http://www.blackberry.com/news/press/2006/pr-03_03_2006-01.shtml>
Security Update 2006-001 Validates Downloads
--------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Responding with reasonable alacrity to the recent Leap-A and
shell script exploits, Apple released Security Update 2006-001
last week, fixing a slew of problems. Most notably, an update to
Safari and LaunchServices performs additional download validation
when the "Open 'safe' files after downloading" option is on
to warn the user (in Mac OS X 10.4.5) or to avoid opening the
download entirely (in 10.3.9). A similar update to Mail makes sure
Download Validation can better detect unsafe or unknown file types
in attachments. Also, an update to iChat in Mac OS X 10.4.5 now
uses Download Validation to warn users of unknown or unsafe file
types during file transfers.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303382>
In general, increased warnings are a good thing unless they become
so commonplace that users automatically agree to actions without
considering the specifics. Plus, despite these changes, Apple
still encourages all users to be careful about handling email
attachments and opening downloaded files; see Apple's safety
tips if you're not sure how to evaluate a given attachment or
file. Even still, we'd like to see Apple going further to prevent
the kind of deceptions that allow a malicious application to
masquerade as a harmless document. Matt Neuburg's suggestion
last week (see "Of Files, Forks, and FUD" in TidBITS-818_) of
badging all executables in some obvious way would be a step
in the right direction, although deception (such as a malicious
application mimicking a well-known legitimate one) remains
possible.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108009>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08437>
Also important in Security Update 2006-001 is an update to
apache_mod_php that includes PHP 4.4.1, a security update to the
PHP scripting language. Holes in PHP - specifically in Web forms
that are being exploited by spammers - are the largest security
issue in the Web server world right now, and PHP 4.4.1 does not
fix all of these problems. PHP is disabled by default in Mac OS X,
so only people who have explicitly turned it on need worry about
these concerns; see the link below for more information.
<http://www.forest.net/support/archives/2005/12/000668.php#000668>
Other updated components of Mac OS X include automount, BOM
(Mac OS X's archive unpacking code), Directory Services,
FileVault, IPsec, LibSystem, perl, rsync, Safari (in more
ways than just increased download validation), and Syndication
(Safari RSS). While some of Apple's security updates feel like
fixes to issues that few people would ever encounter, a number
of the problems addressed by Security Update 2006-001 are quite
concerning, and we encourage everyone to install it right away.
Security Update 2006-001 comes in versions for Mac OS X 10.4.5
for PowerPC (12.5 MB download) and Intel (22.5 MB), and Mac OS X
10.3.9 Client (25.3 MB) and Server (38.6 MB); all sizes are for
the stand-alone version and may be somewhat different for Software
Update, which provides the right version for your Mac.
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
securityupdate2006001macosx1045ppc.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
securityupdate2006001macosx1045clientintel.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate20060011039client.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate20060011039server.html>
Apple Releases Intel-Based Mac Mini
-----------------------------------
by Joe Kissell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
At a special press event in Cupertino last week, Apple announced
the next member of the Intel-based processor lineup: the Mac mini,
available in two configurations.
One model features an Intel Core Solo (single-core processor)
chip, which, according to Apple's tests, runs between 2.5 and
3.2 times faster than the PowerPC G4-based Mac mini, which is no
longer available. The other model contains a Core Duo processor,
with claimed speeds between 4.8 and 5.5 times that of the G4.
<http://www.apple.com/macmini/>
Both versions of the Intel-based Mac mini feature significant
improvements to their connectivity. Ports on the back include
gigabit Ethernet, DVI+VGA video out, one FireWire 400, four USB
2.0, and both analog and SPDIF (5.1) audio in and out ports.
Steve Jobs also said the new minis are exceptionally quiet.
As widely expected, the Mac mini now includes Front Row, along
with the infrared remote control included with Intel-based iMacs
and MacBook Pros.
Not highlighted at the event - but picked up by several outlets -
is the fact that the new Mac mini does not include a dedicated
graphics card, relying on the graphics core component of the Intel
processor. Instead of using a separate store of memory, graphics
processing is handled by the main processor(s) and eating up to
80 MB of system memory. (Macworld's Jonathan Seff has more
information based on talking with Apple at the link below.)
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2006/03/miniboger/
index.php?lsrc=editorsblog>
The 1.5 GHz Core Single model includes 512 MB of RAM, a 60 GB SATA
hard drive, and a combo drive and sells for $600. The 1.67 GHz
Core Duo model includes 512 MB of RAM, an 80 GB hard drive, and a
SuperDrive (with double-layer support) and costs $800. Both models
are now available.
Apple Introduces iPod Hi-Fi
---------------------------
by Joe Kissell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
In addition to the new Mac mini announced at Apple's special press
event last week, the company added two new iPod accessories to its
product lineup. The least interesting is a $100 leather case, in
sizes for the full-sized iPod and iPod nano. The other is more
ambitious: an amplified speaker enclosure called the iPod Hi-Fi.
Apple claims that unlike some other iPod boom boxes on the market,
the new system produces "home stereo quality" sound.
<http://www.apple.com/ipodhifi/>
The iPod Hi-Fi has a three-driver system, with two 80mm mid-range
drivers and a 130mm dual voice coil woofer with a ported bass
reflex design. On the top is a universal iPod dock, which includes
plug-ins for every iPod model that uses a dock connector; an audio
port on the back lets you plug in an iPod Shuffle or an older iPod
without a dock connector.
For portable use, the iPod Hi-Fi has built-in handles and runs
on six D-cell batteries (though at 16.7 pounds (7.6 kg), you may
not be quick to blast your tunes from your shoulder around the
neighborhood). It also has an integrated power supply and an
industrial design meant to look good on a living room bookshelf.
Thanks to a new iPod software update, iPods plugged into the iPod
Hi-Fi will have a new Speakers item in the main menu to adjust
speaker settings. The iPod Hi-Fi also includes the same Apple
Remote included with Front Row-capable Macs.
The iPod Hi-Fi is available now for $350.
In a Docktopus's Garden
-----------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Startly Technologies, the folks behind the venerable QuicKeys
automation utility and the utterly inexplicable TransLucy (it lets
you play movies in a translucent layer over your work, so you can
click and type as though the movie wasn't really there), have a
new utility out, called Docktopus and alliteratively subtitled
"Delightful Dock Denizen." I saw a quick demo of Docktopus at
Macworld Expo, which intrigued me enough to look at it more
closely at home.
In short, Docktopus enables you to add up to four badges to each
icon on your Dock; each badge provides some sort of information
display or control. At the moment, Docktopus comes with nine
badges, most of which can be customized in some fashion:
<http://www.startly.com/products/docktopus.html>
* CPU Meter: Shows the CPU usage of the application on which
the badge is placed.
* Drive Space: Shows a pie chart of the disk usage for the disk
on which it's placed.
* Folder Count: Shows the number of items inside the folder or
disk on which it's placed.
* iCal Event Peek: Displays the iCal events for the current day.
* Item Size: Shows the amount of disk space used by the item
on which it's placed.
* iTunes Control: Lets you play/pause iTunes; Option- and Control-
clicking moves between tracks.
* Launch Menu: Displays a customizable menu of documents (and
recent items) you can open in the application on which it's
placed.
* Mail Peek: Shows the number of unread messages in specified Mail
accounts and information about the five most recent messages.
* Memory: Shows the RAM usage of the application on which the
badge is placed.
<http://www.startly.com/products/docktopus/features.html>
Nothing Docktopus is doing is unique, but its badges provide
contextual access to an area of the screen that's both always
in use and normally off-limits to developers: the Dock. This
attachment to the Dock turns out to be both Docktopus's greatest
strength and its greatest weakness. It's very cool, for instance,
to have Launch Menu badges attached to commonly used applications
as a way of providing quick access to those applications'
frequently and recently used documents. And there's no denying
the utility of being able to monitor the CPU or RAM usage of
a particular application with a mere glance at its Dock icon.
And as you launch and quit applications, Docktopus makes sure
its badges remain attached to the appropriate icons.
Where Docktopus falls down for me is that I keep a lot of
applications running all the time. At the moment, I have 28 icons
in my right-mounted Dock, of which only System Preferences and the
Trash are not active applications. Even on my 17-inch Apple Cinema
Display running at 1280 by 1024, the result is that the Dock icons
are pretty small, making Docktopus's badges a quarter the size of
"pretty small." I can barely see the various graphical meters,
and I can't read the textual ones without leaning up close to the
screen and squinting. Plus, the small size means that precision
mousing is necessary for interactive badges like Launch Menu.
Enabling the Dock's magnification feature makes the badges more
visible, of course, but I don't like Dock magnification, and
Docktopus's badges don't animate smoothly with magnified Dock
icons. Startly acknowledges this: "Docktopus's badge display speed
may be slowed if Dock magnification is enabled. Try reducing or
turning off magnification if you experience problems with badge
display."
Although Docktopus's nine badges are useful, one could imagine
additional badges. Startly provides a badge development kit
for free, and anyone who creates a badge can submit it for the
Docktopus user community to find and download. At the moment,
however, there are no new badges listed on the More Badges page,
and no one has left any comments or questions in the Docktopus SDK
and Badge Creation forum. But Docktopus is yet young, having been
released only late in 2005, so perhaps more time is needed before
third-party badges will start to appear.
<http://www.startly.com/products/docktopus-sdk/>
<http://www.startly.com/products/docktopus/badges/>
Overall, I appreciate the approach that Startly has taken to
providing contextual information and utilities via items that are
already guaranteed to be in the Dock, but being joined at the hip
to the Dock also means that Docktopus will be useful primarily to
people who are geeky enough to want instant access to the kind of
information and capabilities that Docktopus provides without being
the kind of people who run many applications simultaneously or who
store many items in their Docks. I fear that group may be quite
small, but if you're in it, be sure to check out Docktopus's
30-day demo. Docktopus 1.0.2 costs $20, requires Mac OS X 10.4
Tiger, and is a 2.9 MB download.
<http://www.startly.com/download/>
Ultrawideband to Add New Wireless Options
-----------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Just when you've mastered the complexities of Wi-Fi standards
like IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g, and after you've figured out that
Bluetooth can work if you perform the steps just right, a new
wireless player ambles into town. Make room for ultrawideband
(UWB), which will probably be the death knell for cable USB
connections in 2007.
Yes, yes, you've heard it before: Bluetooth has been on the verge
of killing USB for a few years now - but that was always hype.
Bluetooth typically runs at just 1 Mbps (the latest Bluetooth
2.0+EDR version, which ships on new Macs, is 3 Mbps). In
comparison, the original USB 1.1 operates at 12 Mbps, while the
current USB 2.0 flavor carries 480 Mbps. Bluetooth's reach may
number in the tens of millions of devices, but it didn't kill USB.
So why should you pay attention to another wireless contender?
UWB is a radically different approach to wireless data exchange
that boasts the raw speed and flexibility necessary to become
a peripheral replacement with less of the irritation that
accompanies Bluetooth pairing.
**UWB: Short, Fast, Low** -- UWB is a relatively recent wireless
networking approach that turns Wi-Fi, cellular, and other wireless
networks on their heads. Existing standards typically use very
narrow slices of radio spectrum and pump as much signal power
as possible through that band to get the greatest range and
highest throughput. UWB uses a literal ultra-wide band - a swath
of spectrum that's several gigahertz wide, hundreds of times
wider than almost any existing wireless technology.
Since UWB devices use extremely low-power signals, their
chatter is more or less undetectable by other equipment using
the same range of spectrum. UWB pulses are very brief as well.
Because of the low power and desire by the United States Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and other international regulators
to avoid trampling on existing uses, current UWB standards can
send usable signals only about 100 feet (30 meters). (The one
technology that can faintly hear UWB? Wi-Fi operating in the
unlicensed 5 GHz band; UWB has to "notch" or avoid transmitting
across part of that range by FCC rules.)
Within 100 feet, the near-term versions of UWB that will hit the
market can exchange data typically at the full rate of 480 Mbps -
the same as USB 2.0. Beyond 100 feet or if obstacles are in the
way, UWB rapidly drops in throughput. Signals can be detected at
hundreds of feet, but reports indicate that only a few Mbps would
be possible at that range, which is one reason why UWB won't
replace Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Some newer flavors in testing can top
1 Gbps. There's more room in the technology in the future, too,
as regulators may allow higher signal levels or even wider swaths
of spectrum to be used, while companies become more clever about
encoding data.
As in so many areas of computing, the standards process has
reared its ugly head. An IEEE committee - named 802.15.3a for
reasons you likely don't want to know - deadlocked about two
years ago about what form of UWB to use as a short-range network
standard. The only thing the group proved capable of agreeing
upon was to disband last month.
Two opposing alliances that formed within that standards group
remain: One comprises a few companies, foremost among them
Freescale. Freescale is the semiconductor spin-off of Motorola
and incorporates the Motorola acquisition of UWB pioneer
XtremeNetworks. Their form of UWB is now seen as classical,
using the entire stretch of FCC-allotted spectrum.
<http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?nodeId=01J4Fs86282463>
The other organization, the WiMedia Alliance, has Intel and a
host of other chip and electronics firms as members. The group's
approach encompasses both radio technology and higher-level
applications, such as hard-disk mounting over UWB and TCP/IP
networking over UWB. The WiMedia Alliance merged with the Multi-
Band OFDM Alliance, which divides the FCC-allotted spectrum
into a few pieces and then uses orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing (OFDM), in each piece. OFDM, also used in Wi-Fi
flavors 802.11a and 802.11g, divides up spectrum into smaller
subchannels, each of which sends data quite slowly compared
to the overall bandwidth to make it easier to reconcile signal
reflection and cope with interference that may exist in only
a small part of the band in question.
<http://www.wimedia.org/>
The two UWB versions are incompatible and both claim performance,
spectrum utilization, and manufacturing-cost benefits.
**UWB's Place in the Ecosystem** -- UWB by itself is just radio
technology that sends data among compatible devices. Networking
devices succeed or fail by the layers on top of the raw physical
part. Ethernet's success came in part from an ecumenicalism that
allowed many different protocols like TCP/IP, AppleTalk, and
NetBEUI to run seamlessly on the same medium.
On top of those protocols sit applications that make use of
packet delivery and routing over a network medium. For instance,
AppleShare Filing Protocol works over AppleTalk and TCP/IP using
any network medium on which AppleTalk and TCP/IP operate (Wi-Fi,
Ethernet, and so on). Safari uses HTTP, which runs over TCP/IP,
which operates over Ethernet, DSL, and other physical media.
The WiMedia Alliance expects to release its own TCP/IP stack that
works over its UWB flavor, and has partnered with the Bluetooth
SIG, the USB Implementers Forum, and the 1394 Trade Association
(the folks behind the specification underlying FireWire).
The Bluetooth SIG is trying to avoid being stuck with its single
radio technology and will work with Freescale as well to make its
applications available: object exchange (file transfer), dial-up
modem (remote connection), fax, business card interchange, audio,
and other features. Because programmers already know how to work
with Bluetooth applications, it's a simple matter to make those
same features work over UWB.
The USB Implementers Forum has a Wireless USB specification that
the WiMedia members' adapter will work with. Likewise, the 1394
Trade Association has a set of digital video transfer protocols
that will work as well over UWB as over a FireWire cable.
The ultimate goal of the WiMedia Alliance is that new computers
will contain a single radio that will be able to handle Internet
or local networking over TCP/IP, applications over Bluetooth,
hardware over USB, and video over 1394 simultaneously. That's
a serious number of cables that could disappear.
But reaching this goal requires drivers and hardware integration,
a point that's seen as still many months away, and may require
Microsoft, Apple, and Linux backers (via IBM, HP, and other
companies and individuals) to integrate UWB support at the
operating system level. The first phase, therefore, will be
driverless.
Without drivers, UWB devices must emulate existing cable
standards. The first wave to hit the market from several
different companies will almost certainly be USB 2.0 via UWB.
In this scenario, a dongle will plug into your computer's
USB 2.0 port while another dongle or a hub will be at the other
end of the connection. They'll package USB 2.0 traffic within
the UWB connection, looking just like a USB cable to the computer.
This first wave will probably include sets of equipment that are
locked to each other: only a dongle and its paired hub or dongle
will be able to communicate. Later hardware will add generalized
pairing between compatible devices. Freescale and WiMedia have
talked about pairing devices by pressing buttons on the side
of desired devices, using near-field communications (bringing
the devices very close and pressing a button or using software),
or software configuration.
Ultimately, the radio will just be built into most computers, like
Wi-Fi is now, and the application and network protocol layers will
require no extra work to support.
**Where We'll See UWB First** -- The first generally available
device in the U.S. may be a USB 2.0 hub that Freescale has
licensed for production to two companies familiar to Mac users:
Gefen, which specializes in video interconnection and extension,
and Belkin, makers of networking equipment, cables, and a host
of audio and iPod accessories. (Freescale has a Chinese partner,
Haier, which will incorporate its equipment initially only in
domestic Chinese consumer electronics.)
This hub uses a USB dongle powered by a computer's USB bus and
a separate four-port USB hub that requires AC power. This first
flavor runs at just over 100 Mbps, or above a fifth of the speed
of UWB's early potential. Belkin expects to ship their version
in July 2006 for roughly $130, according to Ben Bamdad, a Belkin
product manager. (The press release linked below mentions their
original planned shipping of several months earlier than July.)
<http://www.belkin.com/pressroom/releases/uploads/01_03_06CableFreeUSB.html>
While USB 2.0 is useful for a variety of peripherals, such as
printers, scanners, and hard drives, it's likely that battery-
powered portable electronics such as cell phones and MP3 players
will eventually receive the biggest benefit from UWB because
of its extremely low power usage. Wi-Fi is great, but even the
lowest-powered chips designed for handheld devices will burn
much more power than UWB radios.
UWB will also certainly find its way into consumer electronics
because of the speed and potential simplicity. Imagine purchasing
an LCD television/monitor, a DVD player, a digital home device
(a Mac mini or a Microsoft media center), a stereo receiver,
self-powered speakers, and a set-top cable/satellite receiver,
all of which use UWB - you'd eliminate dozens of feet of different
(and often wildly confusing) wires right there.
If the WiMedia Alliance's vision comes true, which I expect
to happen with Intel behind it, a single radio would enable
communication among all categories of devices using all types
of standards: a Sony camcorder would play via any brand of TV,
but also push standard DV or HDTV video to a computer.
If someone could just get to work on practical wireless power,
we could cut all cables. But that's still science fiction.
Take Control News/06-Mar-06
---------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
**"Take Control of iWeb" Available for Preorder and Comments** --
With iLife '06, Apple added an entirely new application: the Web
authoring tool iWeb. As with most of Apple's programs, iWeb is
easy to use, but lacks significant documentation. So when Steve
Sande, author of our "Take Control of Your iPod: Beyond the Music"
ebook begged to write "Take Control of iWeb," we were pleased to
give him the go-ahead. The book likely won't be entirely complete
until June (we encourage our authors to work sane hours, even
though we aren't always good at practicing what we preach), but
since iWeb users need help now, we're trying something unusual.
As with our ebooks about Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, we've released
"Take Control of iWeb" as a pre-sale. If you purchase it, what
you download is the first page, which contains the oh-so-important
Check for Updates button. Click it to load the Take Control
Updates page in your browser. That page normally tells you
if your copy of an ebook is up-to-date and enables you to
download the current version, but in this case, it also links
to an iWeb-generated blog that Tonya is maintaining while she
edits Steve's text and to the draft of the first quarter of
"Take Control of iWeb."
With this draft, we're pulling back the curtain on one of our
core publishing tools: QuickTopic Document Review, which provides
a forum for a group of people to comment on a document. In this
case, the document in question is an HTML version of the first
chunk of "Take Control of iWeb" as exported from Microsoft Word.
It lacks the bookmarks and internal navigation of our PDF ebooks,
but you can read what Steve has written so far, make comments on
anything there, and ask questions if some part of the text isn't
clear. You'll even be able to see comments and questions others
have left, and participate in any discussions that develop.
Be sure to sign up for email notification on the Take Control
Updates page, since that way we can tell you when we post new
chunks of the manuscript for you to read and comment on. Needless
to say, Steve plans to use any feedback in finalizing the ebook,
and when that's done, those who bought the pre-sale version will,
of course, be able to download the fully edited and polished PDF
ebook for free.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/iweb.html?14@@!pt=TRK-0031-TB819-TCNEWS>
<http://web.mac.com/tonyaengst1/>
<http://www.quicktopic.com/documentcollaboration>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/06-Mar-06
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The first link for each thread description points to the
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**iPhoto 6 pros and cons** -- Adam shares feedback about iPhoto 6
following his review in last week's issue. (2 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2910>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/745/>
**Intel Mac mini uses system RAM for VRAM** -- Unlike previous
models, the new Mac mini does not feature a dedicated graphics
processor card. What are the practical implications of this
design decision? (10 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2911>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/746/>
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